Which will Carson City get first, a new freeway or a pedestrian-safety plan?
We ask that facetiously, but only a little bit. For as exasperated and impatient as residents have been over the years while awaiting a new bypass to help move vehicle traffic around the Capital City, we think they should be just as irritated that little has been done to make it easier - and much, much safer - to walk and bicycle around town.
Last week, a city committee was told that staffers will go back to work on a plan started in 2001 to identify problem areas and potential solutions. Residents should urge city supervisors to make completion of the plan a priority, then provide money to begin pedestrian-safety projects.
The sting operations done from time to time by sheriff's deputies and state troopers are really just a stop-gap measure. Yes, drivers' awareness needs to be heightened. But some permanent improvements are needed as well:
n Signs along the length of Carson Street to remind drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.
n Better lighting over crosswalks on North and South Carson streets, Highway 50 East and many other locations throughout town. If it's frightening for drivers because they can't see pedestrians in the dark at those crosswalks, think how scary it is for the people on foot.
n Crossing lights that can be activated at busy intersections where there are no traffic signals.
n Sidewalks where there are none. And, where there are sidewalks, removal of the obstacles like utility poles in the middle of them.
n A traffic pattern for walkers and bikers, created with at least as much thought as has gone into the bypass route.
Downtown Carson City does have the potential to be a destination for people who simply want to walk to shops, restaurants, museums, professional offices and public buildings. A completed bypass will help, but a pedestrian-friendly downtown won't become a reality without a plan, a timetable and funds.
Perhaps a million dollars or two from Carson City's nickel gas-tax pledge for the bypass could be set aside for the people who, at least occasionally, want to get out of their cars.
